Ernesto Valverde 'still surprised' by Lionel Messi

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has admitted that he is still being surprised by Lionel Messi as the Argentine continues to produce incredible performances for the Catalan giants.

Messi followed up his strike against Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday with a double in Saturday's 6-1 win over Girona in La Liga.

The attacker's second of the night was a clever free kick under the Girona wall, and Valverde has paid tribute to the 30-year-old for another fine display.

"Messi? It's hard to get used to the things he does. Just when you think you've seen everything from Messi, he surprises you, like his free kick, which looked easy but was very difficult to execute," Valverde told Movistar Partidazo.

"He's a player who has and feels responsibility towards the team, and he assumed it when we were faced with their early pressure."

Messi has scored 30 goals and provided 16 assists in 39 appearances for Barcelona this season.